


The Edge of Love

by ScarletWinter2478



Category: SebastianStan - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Falling In Love, Fanfiction, Friendship/Love, Romance, True Love, sebastianstan - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-06
Updated: 2017-11-22
Packaged: 2019-01-30 09:25:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12650766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScarletWinter2478/pseuds/ScarletWinter2478
Summary: Sebastian Stan and Alison McBride have known each other since they were kids.  They developed a friendship that never wavered over the years and when the opportunity to work on the same film was presented to them, naturally they jumped at the chance.   Would their friendship prove strong enough to sustain the stress of making a movie filled with on screen action and a relationship between the leading roles that was difficult to say the least; along with various obstacles and revelations behind the scenes?  Will Sebastian be able to win the love of the woman whose heart he had unknowingly broken?   Can they find the love that had always been there, right on the edge?





	1. Chapter 1

It wasn’t morning yet, not really. It could be said that between 2:30 and 4:30 am – time doesn’t even exist for most people, regular people; the majority of us who work the traditional 9:00 to 5:00 job. There are of course those who are up and around at that hour, lots of them in fact; those poor souls who work the night shift or the ones who get an early start so the rest of us can grab a fresh baked donut and hot cup of coffee on our way in to the office. Policemen, Firemen, nurses… many others.

For most of us however, those hours are filled with dreams and if we are lucky, peaceful sleep. On this particular occasion, Alison was being nudged over and over by the annoying sound vibrating on her night stand. Breaking through the web of dreams, she reached out and grabbed her phone, her eyes still so blurred from sleep that she couldn’t read the caller ID

“Hello?” she spoke softly, not wanting to disturb the man sleeping next to her

“Alison? Did I wake you?” The voice on the other end gave her a start. She hadn’t heard it in over four months

“Sebastian? Are you okay? And of course you woke me!! Why are you calling at this hour?”

Nathan stirred next to her asking, “What is it?” She held the phone to her chest and touched his shoulder, “Nate, it’s okay. It’s a friend who needs to talk. Go back to sleep.” Leaning over, she kissed his cheek, then climbed out of bed and walked to the living room, hoping not to disturb him further… and for a little bit of privacy.

“Ohhh... damn! Ali, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize how late it is. And I guess I forgot about Nate. I’ll let you get back to him; I don’t want to cause any trouble…”

“Sebby – Stop. Please tell me what’s going on. ARE you okay?”

After a brief silence, he replied, “I… I just really needed to hear your voice. I know that sounds kind of lame, but it’s the truth.”

Alison wondered if Sebastian had been drinking. “Where are you?” She knew she shouldn’t even ask. She should tell him to call her later, at a decent hour. But it was Sebastian… her best friend, confidant, partner in crime; the man who had broken her heart more than once and still didn’t even know it.

The line had gone quiet and she asked, “Sebastian, are you still there?”

“Yes. I’m here, and I’m sorry. I have no right to do this, I know that. And I don’t mean to always make it about me… but you are my rock, my calm in the storm. You always have been. You know that, don’t you?”

“I know, and it’s fine that you called me, it really is. Now, tell me how I can help.”

Thinking a little more clearly than when he had first called, he decided against asking her to see him tonight. “Could you meet me for lunch tomorrow?”

“Oh Sebastian … I don’t think I can do that. I have a really full day. How about we meet at Vitelli’s at 7:00 o’clock? Will that work?”

“Yeah… that would be great. I can’t wait to see you.”

“Same here my friend.”

“Thank you,” he spoke softly adding, “Alison – I heart you,” their own special way of ending conversations for years now.

Smiling she replied, “I heart you too. I’ll talk to you tomorrow Sebby. Bye-bye.”

“Good bye” he sighed hanging up. He felt stupid, a little guilty and a lot jealous. He looked up at her apartment window just in time to see her walk past it, before turning out the lights and returning to bed, where another man waited for her. He actually rolled his eyes at the thought of “Nathan”, which was ridiculous on his part, considering he barely knew the man. Opening his car door, stopping to look up at the dark window once more, he sighed deeply and nodded to himself, before climbing in and driving away.

 

_Sebastian Stan and Alison McBride had been friends for more years than either of them cared to admit. Meeting at an acting camp as teenagers, they had struck up a friendship that had never wavered. In fact, at one point early in their careers, they had shared an apartment with two other struggling actors. Those days had been difficult at times, but Ali always thought of it as a grand adventure! Sebastian had always wanted to be an actor. That was his dream, his calling; while Alison simply wanted to ‘see if she could do it’, seeing it as a challenge to be won. So, naturally with her blasé attitude, she was the first in their group to score the ‘big role’. No one was more surprised about it than she was. Not that the others weren’t getting parts too, especially Sebastian; but her role in Resident Evil, would earn her the notice of several other directors; which brought more roles, a horde of fans, a shit load of sequels and a whole lot of money._

_Even so, she stayed on at the apartment for over six months, before Seb got HIS big breakthrough with his part in the first ‘Captain America’ movie. It wasn’t much longer until they agreed they should find their own places. However, while Sebastian loved New York and never even considered moving anywhere else, Alison found herself a small house outside of Los Angeles, away from all the people and the worst of the smog. At first he had been a little upset with her, he felt like she was abandoning him, although he never told her that._

_“Sebby, please don’t be angry with me! You know I never wanted to stay in New York… this is your playground, not mine.”_

_Alison was originally from southern Florida, the land of lots of sunshine and no frigid winters. California seemed like a better fit for her. He knew that what she was saying made perfect sense… he just didn’t want to let her go. And he worried about her. So far, all the success she was having hadn’t changed her. She was still the sweet, silly, innocent, yet, crazy girl he had met all those years ago. He’d heard some pretty bad things about Hollywood… but he knew he couldn’t stop her once she’d made up her mind, so he tried to be happy for her._

 

_On her last day in NY, Sebastian took her to the airport. They sat side by side in the terminal, watching as the long line of people made their way through the final security check point, the line growing shorter and shorter. Taking her hand he said, “I’m sorry I’ve been such an ass about all of this. You know it’s because I love you, right?”_

_She smiled and nodded as he went on, “Ali, I’m going to miss you so much. More than you can even imagine …” his voice was choked with emotion._

_Reaching up, she ran her fingers gently through the hair just above his ear, “Sebby, I’ll always be just a phone call away, you know that. And it’s not like we’ll never see each other again!”_

_“I know… I know. It’s just that… it won’t be the same. Nothing is going to feel right without you. You just don’t know…”_

_“Don’t be silly, of course I know. Now stop before we both start crying.” She stood and walked to the end of the line. Sebastian stood next to her, chewing on his bottom lip._

_There were only a couple of people in front of her now and the butterflies in her stomach and the ache in her chest were keeping her unusually quiet. Suddenly grabbing her arm, Sebastian turned her to face him. With no warning he leaned in and pulling her close he kissed her; an honest to goodness, ‘much more than friends’ kind of kiss that took Alison totally by surprise, leaving her breathless. His mouth close to hers, she could feel his warm breath as his eyes that had locked onto hers moved slowly back to her lips…_

_“Miss,” the man at the counter was growing impatient. It was her turn. Ali looked at the man, handed him her ID and turned to see Sebastian had taken several steps back. The sadness in his eyes cut her to the quick. She wanted to say something, but words simply escaped her. He gave her a forlorn smile and a two fingered salute, and then turned away…_

_That had been almost 7 years ago. So much had happened in the time since; years that had sped by so quickly. Both of their careers had really taken off, keeping them busy to the point of exhaustion most of the time. Sebastian had become the darling of social media, his face plastered on millions of fan accounts, magazines, late night talk shows and the big screen. Ali had watched as he grew from an attractive boyish-man into a stunningly handsome grown-man. While he kept his ‘home base’ in New York, Alison had done her time in LA, then moved home to Florida for a short time, then bought a house outside of Atlanta when she scored a popular role on AMC’s The Walking Dead. She kept that house, even after she took over an apartment back in New York and split her time between the two. She loved the low key atmosphere of Georgia, but frankly missed her friends in New York, one friend in particular…_

 

They had kept in touch and seen each other many times over those years, but there was never any mention of, much less a repeat of “ _the airport kiss_ ”. She didn’t know why she even thought there should or would be. Ali KNEW Sebastian. He was a huge flirt and rotated girlfriends like other men rotated the tires on their cars. She knew he could have any woman he wanted and she was blessed to have him as a friend, which should be good enough. Right?

Shortly after her return to NY, she had been invited to a dinner party at a friend’s home and after arguing long and hard with herself, she decided to go. Alison knew this was another attempt to ‘set her up’, (her friend was famous for her matchmaking skills) and although she doubted anything would come of it, Ali had been forced to face the fact that she was going to grow old alone if she waited for Sebastian Stan. Three nights later she was introduced to Nathan Greer; handsome, charming, intelligent and funny. They hit it off straight away and she smiled smugly to herself thinking, “Your loss Sebastian… your loss,” and in that moment, she had really meant it. So why did it take so long for her to get ‘close’ to Nathan? And why did it still hurt so badly to think of Sebby with someone else?

 

Sebastian returned to his empty apartment. He and his girlfriend of three years had called it quits just before he went out of town. The loss had hit him pretty hard and he was angry at himself for always being the one who managed to ruin things. And he was surprised that even as painful and difficult as it was to say goodbye to Miranda, his thoughts kept turning to Alison. Alison, who had always been his sounding board; the one who helped him reason things out and if they couldn’t make sense of it together, the one who made him laugh and believe that it would still be okay. He felt bad that he hadn’t been able to see more of her before he left the city this time, but he had been trying to smooth things out ‘at home’. For all the good that had done him.

On this night he had left his place after a couple of drinks and before really thinking things through. Alison was in town. His Ali; she would fill this void and make him feel better, like no one else ever could. He had never even considered that she might have someone with her. Of course she had told him about Nathan and even introduced him at a club one night, and he was happy for her… mostly. He just hadn’t expected her to become so attached to the guy so quickly and realizing that he was with her at that hour of the morning told Seb more than he wanted to know. After driving to her apartment he had sat in front of the building for quite a while, clearing his head; wondering what he should say to her; if he should tell her that he had been thinking about her a lot lately. Should he admit how often he remembered the warmth of her soft lips pressed to his and the way it had made him feel that day at the airport? He had never really admitted, not even to himself, that he might be ‘in love’ with her; that he ‘may’ have been for a very long time; but because it felt like they were made to be best friends and that doing anything to mess that up would be a stupid move on his part, he had never said anything.

He debated the pros and cons for a good 15 minutes before he called to see if he could come up and talk with her, and then realized that he couldn’t, not on this night. As he had watched her pass in front of the window and turn out the lights, his heart ached and his gut clinched. It suddenly seemed so clear to him that the two of them belonged together. He had to know if there was even a chance, and he had to make his move soon because that night he finally realized that she was moving on, without him.

 

The next day was super busy for Alison, which was a good thing; otherwise, she would have spent far too much time wondering what was going on with Sebastian and why he had felt the need to call her in the wee hours of the morning and then not really tell her anything. The way things were going today, with interviews and photo shoots and a late meeting with the director of the latest script she was reading and extremely interested in, she knew she would be better off if she could just go straight home afterwards to take a nice soak in the tub, with bubbles and candles and music playing in the background.

However, she had made this ‘date’ with’ Sebastian and she felt obligated to show up… for him. Not because she had seen so little of him in the past several months. Not because she missed the sound of his voice, his beautiful smile or the way he cocked his head when he was trying to be ‘extra’ cute. Not his sinfully gorgeous eyes. Not his laugh that never failed to make HER laugh too. And definitely not those times they spent alone together, when he felt free to throw his arm around her as they watched television or sat out under the stars or just hung out and talked. No. She was doing this because he had asked for her help and it was the least she could do after all these years as his friend…

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

Sebastian arrived at the restaurant early, securing them a table in a secluded corner with a window that provided a view of a smallish garden adorned with several fruit trees, flowering bushes and a bubbling fountain. At ten minutes after 7:00 he started to get a gnawing feeling of dread in his stomach. Alison was never late, for ANYTHING. Ten minutes wasn’t much in a city like New York, but he couldn’t help but worry that something had happened, or even worse, that she had decided not to come. He pulled his phone out and tapped his fingers on the table, considering his options, when he saw her coming around the corner with a waiter.

Standing, he moved from the table to take her hand, thanking the man as he pulled her chair out. After they traded a warm hug and friendly pecks on the cheek, he said happily, “Hey gorgeous! Let me look at you!”

Alison struck a silly pose and puckered her lips in dramatic fashion. Sebastian gave her a wicked grin, shaking his hands like he had burned his fingers touching her. “Hot as ever!” he whispered in her ear as she sat and he helped her get her chair just right.

Ali smiled brightly, “You only say that because it’s true.” She laughed a little self-consciously, having always felt like she never measured up to most of the popular Hollywood Starlet types. Sebastian had never understood WHY she felt that way, but he had learned over the years not to argue with her about it. It was just one of her little ‘quirks’.

“You are looking quite dashing these days, going from ‘scruff’ to full on beard and back again. Driving the ladies wild, as usual.” She smirked at him.

Leaning his head back, he rubbed his chest and said, “Well, somebody’s got to do it.” They both laughed as the waiter arrived with drinks that Sebastian had already ordered, telling the man they would need a few more minutes to look at the menu.

Once they had ordered their meals and proceeded with a little chit-chat, they both grew quiet for a moment. Sebastian sighed and spoke first, “Al, I’m sorry about calling you in the middle of the night. And I’m really sorry if I caused any… you know; any kind of friction between you and Nate.”

Alison took a sip from her glass and looked at him for a long moment. “Sebastian, why DID you call? Not that I’m not always glad to hear from you, but it seemed like something was really wrong. Are you ready to talk about it?”

He took her hand in his saying, “Let’s… wait for our food and then we can talk, what do you say?”

_Nodding she looked out the window, wondering why she hadn’t told him that his late night call HAD caused a little friction with Nate. And who could blame the man? Nathan had been SO patient with her. They had been dating for over four months and even though to everyone who knew them they appeared to be a matched set, Alison had been slow in allowing herself to think of Nate as anything more than a ‘date’. She enjoyed being with him, they agreed on almost everything that really mattered and he treated her like a princess; there didn’t seem to be any reason for her to hold back. No reason except maybe… that one little kiss that had happened years before? How ridiculous was that? She was being totally unfair to him and to herself. What was she waiting for? WHO was she waiting for? Is it any wonder that when the time felt right and she had finally suggested to Nate that he stay the night, he had asked her if she was feeling okay? She knew he was kidding, but realized how he must have felt all those months. As she started to apologize, he had shushed her with his lips and made it clear that all was forgiven, and that, yes indeed, he would be happy to spend the night._

_That had been a little over a month ago, and although they had progressed to the next level in their relationship, it sometimes felt like their happiness was slightly ‘strained’. It certainly didn’t help that every time someone mentioned Sebastian, that person had her full attention no matter what had been going on moments before. And Nate? He tried to take it with a grain of salt and it seemed he had been successful at doing that until last night. He hadn’t been loud or angry sounding, but he’d made it clear this morning how uncomfortable her ‘friendship’ with Sebastian was starting to make him feel. Alison took all the blame for that, and could understand how it must look to him, but she didn’t know how to change, or how to stop caring for Seb. Nate had left before her this morning, with a quick peck on the forehead and making no mention of seeing her later._

Their food arrived along with a very nice bottle of wine and after Sebastian offered a quick toast to her beauty and their lasting friendship, they ate heartily, each tasting what was on the other’s plate and sharing some of their own. They giggled and whispered like teenagers and anyone who was paying attention might think they were on a ‘real’ date as they sat close and whispered back and forth, oblivious to the room around them.

Once again, it was Alison who broached the subject at hand. “Okay, Sebastian. Spill it. What is going on with you?”

He licked his lips, swallowed hard, took another drink of wine and looked at her sheepishly. “Ali… I was really feeling lonely and alone, you know what I mean? Since Melinda left, I have worked very hard to stay so busy that I hardly notice coming home to an empty place. I know that I’m my own worst enemy most of the time and I also know that you have always been the **one** person who isn’t afraid to tell me that I screwed up, but that it’s going to be okay. I needed to hear that. I needed to hear **you** say that. It sounds really lame right now I know, but that’s what was going on, mostly.”

Alison was looking at him intently, her head slightly cocked to one side. When he stopped, she raised her brows and softly asked, “Is that it?”

Seb took a shaky breath and answered, “I told you it sounds lame. At the time it didn’t feel that way.”

Nodding she continued to study his face, “Yeah, I mean, no. It’s not lame to feel lonely; we’ve all been there. And I am really sorry about Melinda… I don’t think I ever told you that. I understand those feelings too,” she started to let it go, but couldn’t. “”Sebby, what else? You added ‘almost’ at the end there. What are you not telling me?”

“Oh, I… I just have some other stuff going on… work stuff, everyday stuff, the stuff that we all go through. It just gets old sometimes.”

She didn’t believe him. He always got this little tick on his upper lip when he lied and it was jumping like crazy right now, even though he was trying to ignore it. However, if he didn’t want to tell her about it, she couldn’t make him. Smiling at him she looked at her phone and saw that there was one message from Nate and that time had flown by like it always did when she was with Seb.

“Well my friend, it sounds like you really don’t need my help with anything. You appear to have recovered nicely from your moment of loneliness and you understand, I hope, that it’s not just you, we all feel alone in a crowded room once in a while… And I’m sure that if you DO want to talk about the other ‘stuff’ that is weighing on you, you know you can call me, anytime. And now, having said that, I must confess that I am really tired and should probably call it a night.”

Sebastian wasn’t ready for her to go. “No, really? It’s been so long since we’ve seen each other; I was hoping we could spend a little extra time together. I… guess Nate is probably waiting on you, huh?”

“No,” that popped out a little more forcefully than she intended. “He is back at his place tonight. I probably won’t see him for a couple of days.” Why did she feel the need to add that last part?”

“His place?” Sebastian felt a glimmer of hope, “I mean... I thought the two of you were living together…you know.”

Alison laughed, shaking her head. “Not that it matters, but what gave you that idea?” Sebastian gave her a look and was obviously struggling to find a logical excuse when she said, “Ohhh! When you called this morning he was… right. I see…uh, no. We don’t live together.”

She seemed almost embarrassed and Sebastian smirked inwardly before saying, “Ali, it’s ok. You don’t owe me an explanation. I just assumed that since you guys were together at that hour, in the middle of the week no less, it must mean…” he had the good sense to blush, “And obviously I was wrong. My bad.” Sensing that now was a good time to change the subject he took her hand and asked, “Are you sure you don’t want some dessert?”

Grinning at him, Ali shook her head, “No thank you, not this time.”

Just then, the waiter walked by leaving the check on the table. Sebastian added a nice tip and put his card inside, then asked Ali what she was up to the next day.

“Well, I’m up for a role that I really want, and believe it or not, the writer/director wants to make sure there is some “genuine chemistry” between myself and the leading man. However, for some reason, he wouldn’t tell me just “who” that man is. He said he wanted every moment we are together to be fresh and real… or something like that,” she giggled nervously. It had been a while since she had even been asked to do an ‘audition’ of any kind.

Sebastian was staring at her with the funniest look on his face. He knew EXACTLY who it was, because … it was HIM!! No way this was happening!! He and Alison, if he had anything to say about it, were going to be working together on a movie… for the first time ever! Oh… this was perfect!! He didn’t want to give it away so he quickly said, “Yeah that IS kind of strange… I hope you get the part. You’ll let me know, right?”

She laughed, “Of course! You’ll be the first person I call…” He nodded and thought to himself, “If you only knew!!”

Once the waiter brought his card back, they left the restaurant and Sebastian walked her to her car. “I can follow you home, if you’d like.”

“No! You don’t need to do that. I’ll be fine,” Alison was always touched by how protective Seb was, not just of her, but most women in general.

“It’s really no problem, you know that, right?”

She couldn’t help herself, as she placed her hands on his broad chest, stood on her tip-toes and kissed him on the cheek. “I do know that, thank you.”

He couldn’t help himself either, as he held her firmly, leaning down, to kiss her ever so lightly on the lips, and then quickly pulled away. “Okay, I expect to hear from you tomorrow, alright?”

Biting her lip briefly she said, “Alright. I’ll talk to you tomorrow,”

Once in her car she rolled her window down. “Good night Sebby,” she spoke softly. He winked, saying “Good night Alison,” then gave her a wave as she pulled out of her parking space, watching her until she was nearly out of sight.

That night, neither of them slept very well, though for completely different reasons.

 

The next morning, Sebastian woke with a smile on his face. He had spent the previous night imagining how this day’s ‘audition’ with Alison would go. He knew there was a chance that she would be furious with him for not saying anything the night before, once she realized that he had to have known what was going happen. He was hoping that after the initial ‘shock’, she would see the possibilities and just how awesome it would be to get to work together. Once he finally fell to sleep, he continued to dream of her; only these dreams were somewhat erotic and extremely vivid.

Shaking his head he took a shower and dressed comfortably, not exactly sure what Trevor would want to see from the two of them. He might want to just have them read or, since the movie was action oriented, he may want to see how they ‘moved’ together.  
  


Trevor Spence was a hot new director with an eye for the beauty of simplicity in the midst of action and chaos. He had been a part of ½ a dozen of the mega blockbuster movies released in the past two years. Sebastian was thrilled to get to work with the man, even though along with his success, Trevor was also well known for his eccentricities. Most actors would say it was a small price to pay. Hopefully, Alison would feel the same. This particular movie was set a couple of hundred years in the future, and featured the director's own personal take on time travel, backwards and forwards, and the different effects it could have on the individual and on society as a whole. And yes, there were ‘time cops’ a la’ the old Van Dam movie along with lots of action.

 

Alison woke with a splitting headache and itchy eyes. Damn allergies!! Why now? Why today??? She swallowed a couple of pills, put some drops in her eyes and did some deep breathing to calm herself down. After a quick shower she dressed in a pair of jeans and a loose fitting silky blouse, pinning her hair up and adding just a touch of makeup. Soon, she was on her way to the studio.

Once she arrived, she was immediately ushered into Trevor’s office where she met a very soft-spoken, unassuming man with wild, curly dark brown hair and a smile that defied one not to smile back. He was friendly and very funny and Alison liked him right away. She read several scenes from the script, some alone and some with him and she felt that they had a good report’ and would work well together. As the minutes passed, she grew more and more confident that the role would be hers.

Finally, it was time to meet the leading man. They left Trevor’s office and walked down a long hallway, busy with all kinds of people and various activities. They entered a small-ish room with an even smaller raised platform/stage area. There were half dozen chairs scattered about and in the back a tiny sound booth. Two of the seats were already occupied; one by Karen Jacoby, Alison’s long time agent and friend and in the other she could see the back of a man’s head. She recognized him in the blink of an eye. It was Sebastian. Sebastian???!!!! What the fuck??!!!

In the time it took Karen and Sebastian to stand and turn to greet the newcomers, Alison managed to fight back the yelp of surprise, the gulp of recognition, the initial shock and the flash of disbelief that raced through her. She even managed to take a deep breath and smile as Trevor turned to introduce her.

Sebastian smiled broadly, eyeing Ali with a wariness that spoke volumes. He moved close to her and pulled her into a hug, whispering, “Surprise!”… Ali smiled and kissed him on the cheek, whispering back, “you asshole!”

Trevor wasn’t sure exactly what was going on between them, but it only took a moment for him to recognize that there was enough ‘chemistry’ between the attractive couple to fuel a power plant! He went through the formalities and did ask them to do one scene together; a very tender moment in the midst of a dangerous situation. They nailed it. It was touching, intense and beautifully done. Bingo. He had his leading lady!

Karen and Trevor headed off to handle some of the details and as Ali started to leave, Sebastian grabbed her hand, not allowing her to go. “Are you angry that I didn’t say anything? “

Alison smirked at him, shaking her head, “No. I’m not ANGRY… I just don’t know why you didn’t think it might be something you should maybe tell me…”

"I wanted to, I just didn’t want to give you another reason to be nervous.”

“Nervous? What are you talking about, I wasn’t nervous!!” she had no idea what he was going on about.

“Ali, I assume you have read the whole script, right?” he lowered his head and raised his eyes, giving her a knowing look.

Suddenly, she knew exactly where he was going, “Sebastian Stan! Are you kidding me right now? Do you honestly think I can’t handle doing a love scene with you? Really? I AM a professional, or did you forget that?” She spoke with absolute disdain in her voice, although she wasn’t feeling nearly as bold as she sounded.

“Well I, I don’t know... I guess I thought you might be uncomfortable or… something,” he stuttered a bit, not sure now what he was thinking.

“Did I seem uncomfortable ten minutes ago?’ she wondered aloud.

After giving it a moment’s thought, he had to confess, “No. No you didn’t. In fact, you seemed to enjoy it, quite a bit.”

Alison gave him an ‘oh no you don’t’ kind of look and Sebastian laughed, taking off down the hall, hoping to get out of the range of the apple he saw her grab from the concession cart that they passed along the way. When he stopped outside of Trevor’s door, waiting for her to catch up, he surprised her by asking, “’Ali, it’s none of my business, but do you think Nate will be okay with us working so closely together?”

It was his turn to be surprised when she answered, “I don’t know. And it really doesn’t matter. As much as I care for him, he is not the boss of me. I want to do this movie. And I’m glad you and I will get to work together after all of this time. I’m not going to apologize for that.”

Sebastian grinned at her and knocked on the door, wondering if it was really going to be this easy… for some reason, he didn’t think so.

 


	3. Chapter 3

Filming was scheduled to begin three weeks later as all of the other parts and pieces that had to be considered and at least partially written in stone to even begin a huge endeavor like this one, were seamlessly coming together. Alison was excited that they would be filming mostly in Atlanta, since her home was not terribly far away in a town called Senoia; where much of the filming for The Walking Dead was done; and because they would begin filming THAT show almost two weeks BEFORE she was scheduled to complete her scenes in “A Point in Time” with Sebastian. Hopefully things could be arranged so that she could work on both without having to be two places at once!

Sebastian spent most of those three weeks finishing up appearance commitments and doing a couple of talk shows. He was spending a lot of time working out with Don at Drive 495. His character was not exactly the Winter Soldier, but he was supposed to be muscular and tough as nails. If anyone was nervous about the love scenes he would be doing with Alison, he had to be honest and admit to himself it was him! He was afraid that, knowing him as well as she did, she would be able to sense how attracted he was to her. That could get a little uncomfortable for both of them. Should he tell her before then? Or would that only make things worse? And of course, the one person he would usually go to with questions like these was Alison herself…

 

They arrived in Atlanta in early May and the temperature was already rising above 80 on most days, with plenty of humidity. It was an enormous entourage of people; actors, crew, directors, special effects, assistants and **their** assistants, along with many, many more. Sebastian started his filming duties first, and Alison was always somewhere near, watching, studying him as he made the character his own. She had a pretty good idea of how Trevor wanted her to play her character, “Sydney Abbot” but she wanted to see how Seb was playing “Ethan Cole” to get some idea of how SHE felt Sydney would react to him, given their character’s love/hate/love relationship.

Their first scene together was mostly green screen with a bit of action and one big jump and run stunt that was done by Alison’s double. When they watched the daily’s, Alison just shook her head.

“Trevor, it just doesn’t look right. Not with the angles you want. It’s obvious that is not me. Let me try it, please?”

He shook his head at the same time that Sebastian said, “No!” at which point several heads turned to look at him.

“It looks fine. Why take the chance this early in filming that someone gets hurt?”

“Oh…” (Seb knew he was in trouble…when Alison started a sentence with that word in that tone of voice, she was not happy) “So, if it was much later in filming it would be fine if ‘ _someone’_ got hurt?

“No… of course not. You know that’s not what I was saying.”

“Well then, are you concerned that I can’t do it, to the point you don’t even want me to try? You have to see that it would look so much better if it was really me, don’t you?”

She had watched her stunt double closely and from what she saw, there was very little chance of getting hurt. She hadn’t said anything at the start because she didn’t want to alienate him, but she didn’t understand why Trevor had even called the double in for this particular move… apparently he was not overly familiar with her previous roles… This was nothing compared to some of the things she had done before.

“I agree…and since we still have everything and everyone we need to re-shoot this scene… let’s do it with Ali in the harness,” Trevor could see she was making a valid point and was willing to give it a try.  
  


After a little touch-up from the makeup department, Ali felt ready to go; hooked in the harness and hoping desperately she didn’t screw it up. Sebastian had stationed himself across from the action, watching and waiting to see if he would be re-doing his part of the scene.

With a quick reminder of how the harness worked, the stunt coordinator asked if she was ready for a run-through.

“I think I’m ready to just do it,” she smiled at him and he could see in her eyes that she knew exactly what she was doing.

Everything was in place and when the director said, ‘action’, Ali ran the few steps to the end of the ‘cliff’ and leaped off, executing a perfect jump, landing smoothly and rolling on the green mat to the spot where Sebastian would appear in the next frame having ‘grabbed’ her to keep her from falling to her death.

Trevor yelled “CUT! PRINT IT!” as he clapped and declared “Alison that was absolutely perfect!”

Sebastian was nodding his head and Alison smiled brightly at him as she was unhitched from the harness. They crew set up the few things needed to complete the shot with Seb now ‘catching’ Ali instead of the stunt double. It was all done in a very few minutes and Trevor declared the day was over and thanked everyone for their hard work and for staying over to keep them on schedule.  
  


As Ali walked to her trailer she heard someone walking behind her. She stopped in her tracks and turned to see Sebastian closing in on her.

“Where are you off to in such a hurry?” he wanted to know.

“I’m heading to my trailer to take a shower, eat a bite of something and go to bed…why?” she questioned him with a smirk on her face.

“I was just wondering if you might want to hang out for a while. It’s still pretty early, we could grab a meal together, then maybe watch a movie or take a walk, or something…what do think?”

_Oh dear lord! What was that she was feeling in her chest and knees? Were those tiny little tremors of excitement? Those same little tremors she always felt when she was nervous, or afraid, or was very attracted to someone? What the heck was wrong with her? This was Sebastian! This was her friend, Sebastian… not some new beau come to call, preparing to play the game of ‘getting to know each other’. It’s Sebastian and he’s waiting for an answer…_

“Well, sure. That would be fine. I do want to take a shower first… meet me back here in 30 minutes?”

A wide smile spread across his face just before he tripped over a piece of equipment that was clearly visible to anyone watching what they were doing.

“Sebby! Are you okay?”

Now a blush was rising up his neck and threatening to flow on up to his cheeks.

“Yeah I’m fine. You know me, as clumsy as the day is long!” He shook it off, but clearly he was embarrassed.

Ali grabbed his hand and teased, “Do you need me to walk you to your trailer?”

Sebastian snorted and rolled his eyes, “No. You just worry about getting cleaned up. I’ll be back before you know it.” She laughed saying, “You got it. I’ll be ready!”

As he made the trek to his temporary home, he wondered why the people who had set up the make-do trailer park had managed to separate the two of them so completely. It didn’t make sense… they would be working pretty much the same schedule; most people knew they were good friends, and it just seemed odd that they were at opposite ends of the ‘cast’ lot. Strange.

Once he had reached his motor home, he checked his messages, responded by text to anyone who needed a quick answer then hopped in the shower. He had hoped he would have some kind of game plan in mind by now… but he was still fumbling around with ideas of how to best approach Alison; how to let her know where his heart was. A tiny little voice rose up in his mind, suggesting he was afraid that she would laugh at the very idea of the two of them ‘together’… but he had to try. He just needed to figure out how to go about it…

Dressing in his favorite pair of skinny legged jeans and a black under-armor t-shirt; he splashed on just a bit of his favorite cologne and touched up his hair. Staring in the mirror, he saw a man in his prime, on top of the world, adoring fans and people at his beck and call, but still not satisfied; still searching for something. He scrunched up his face then stuck his tongue out at the reflection he saw there and left to meet up with Alison.

 

Sebastian tapped on her door and waited for Ali to open up. When she did, she was wrapped in a giant towel with a flustered look in her face.

“Hi!” she squeaked out, “I’m almost ready… come in and sit for a sec.

She left him to return to the bedroom, leaving the door cracked slightly so they could talk; a habit they had gotten into many years ago.

“Alison… how can you say you are almost ready when you aren’t even dressed yet?” he teased.

“It will just take two minutes… hold your horses!”

He could hear her rummaging around and watched as the towel she had been wearing flew past the partially open door. His body had an immediate reaction and he took a deep breath, trying to think of something clever to say; but words had escaped him. It was less than two minutes before she came bounding out of her bedroom holding her shoes in her hand. She wore a pair of skin tight jeans and a loose fitting sleeveless t-shirt that had TWD stamped on it. Slipping her feet into her shoes, she looked at Sebastian with a plea for help in her eyes.

“What?” he asked playfully. He already knew. “Could those jeans be just a bit tight? Need a little help tying those shoes, do ya?” he couldn’t help the laugh in his voice. They had done this many times back in the days they had shared the apartment.

“Sebastian… you can help, or wait while I go change.” She smiled prettily at him.

Shaking his head, he grabbed her by the waist and lifted her up to sit on the table top, then grabbed one of her ankles pulling her leg up to rest her foot on his upper thigh while he tied one shoe, then repeated the procedure on the other.

“You know, you could wear those ones that you like so much that just slip on… wouldn’t that be easier?”

Hopping off the table she smiled sweetly, “Yes, but what would be the fun in that? Besides, I wanted to wear these shoes.”

With a roll of his eyes and an exaggerated sigh, he held out his hand and said, “Come on… let’s go eat.”

She grabbed her clutch and made sure at least one light would be on when she got back, then answered “On your six!!”

 

On shoots like this, the ones that were going to go on for weeks, with super long days and no way to guarantee any of the local restaurants would be open at the end of shooting, the studio always provided a catering cafeteria of sorts, open nearly 24 hours a day to provide food for anyone on set, no matter what time of day. And the best part was, the food was awesome. When Seb asked Alison where she wanted to eat, the cafeteria was her first choice.

“Really?” he asked with a slight frown.  He had been planning to go offsite, away from inquisitive eyes.

“Yes!! I am hoping they have those amazing ‘Sloppy Joe’s that are usually on the menu!!” With a shrug, he had to agree those were pretty good sandwiches.

When they reached the food tent, there were several others already there, laughing, drinking and enjoying various entrées. They walked up to the ‘order’ line and said hello to the cooks behind the counter, asking what was good tonight and were instantly assured that EVERYTHING was good. With a laugh, they went with their first choice of Sloppy Joe sandwiches with pickles and fresh fruit on the side. Alison had a big glass of sweet tea and Sebastian stuck with a sparkling water.

They carried their trays, greeting several others as they made their way to an empty table; not away from the group, but on the edge, giving them a tiny bit of privacy. The food smelled so good, it didn’t take either of them long to give their plates their full attention… it had been quite a few hours since either of them had eaten. Finally, looking up and into Sebastian’s eyes, Alison grinned, nodding her head in appreciation of the simple yet very satisfying meal.

He had been watching her, taking in every little detail; the way the lights played on her blonde hair; the curve of her neck as she looked over to smile and wave at someone who had called her name in greeting; the tiny splattering of freckles on her bare arms; the sweet glow of her cheeks and those delicious looking pink lips. How many times over the years had he sat across a table from her and never noticed how stunning she really was? When she looked into his eyes, he was caught off guard by the beautiful shade of green they were; how they sparkled; wondering how they would look in the midst of a passionate embrace…

“Sebastian? Are you okay?” she asked as she held a slice of mango between her fingers, her lips moist from the bite she had just taken.

Pulling himself together he nodded…”Yep, good as gold.”

She reached across the table and touched his hand, “Are you sure? You seem awfully quiet.”

The feel of her hand resting on his suddenly brought him back into focus. “Am I? I’m sorry, I guess I was just enjoying the view.” Alison instinctively looked around to see what he was looking at, when it struck her that they were in a tent and he was talking about HER; she snort/laughed so hard that Sebastian busted out laughing too.   This romance thing might be harder than he had originally thought. Could the very fact that they were such good friends who knew each other so well, actually be a hindrance rather than a help? He had no intention of letting it detour him… every moment he spent with Alison strengthened his resolve.

After they finished their meal, they left the laughter of the others behind, stepping out of the tent to be greeted by an amazing sight, the night sky decorated with a full moon and a multitude of stars. Sebastian offered his arm and Ali gently tucked her arm under his, not even thinking for a moment about Nate or how this might have looked to him. In fact, she wasn’t thinking of **anything** other than Sebastian and how warm he was, and how unbelievably good he smelled; and how very much she was enjoying this moment.

Walking side by side, Sebastian kept Alison laughing, regaling her with stories of his escapades and mishaps in various action scenes he had been a part of. She asked him questions and nodded in understanding at several points, sharing with him a few similar experiences that she’d had in her own projects; she had done a lot of wire-work and fight scenes too.

“Damn Ali… I don’t know what made me think that you couldn’t do that jump. I guess… it’s just second nature for me to want to protect you.”

“Sebby, I know that. But you need to ease off… at least while we are working together. Sydney is supposed to be a bit of a badass and ‘one of the guys’… so you need to treat ME like one of the guys. You see what I’m saying?”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. I don’t like it… but I **will** try.”

They walked for about fifteen minutes in one direction, then turned around and headed back in the direction of their motor coaches. Once they arrived, Seb was hoping Ali would invite him in. She hesitated in the doorway before speaking, “Sebastian, I wanted to talk to you about something…it may be a little uncomfortable. Well, I KNOW it is for me, but I just…”

He totally lost focus as she uttered those few words, _“Dear God!! What the hell is she going to say?_ ” he wondered to himself. He knew she was still talking, but he couldn’t get his head to clear enough to hear her.

“Sebastian?” she said for the 2nd time, “What is wrong with you tonight? Are you feeling okay?”

“What?” was all he could manage to squeeze out.

Putting her hand on his forehead, she looked into the ocean blue of his eyes and froze. What she saw there made her knees go weak. His eyes betrayed what his heart was feeling. She saw his desire clearly written there and as her pulse quickened she scolded herself…this was some kind of fool’s gold. She was seeing what she wanted to see and would not fall for the tricks her mind was playing.

“Do you need to come in and sit for a minute? You look really pale,” she pulled her hand away and unlocked her eyes from his.

“No… It’s okay. I’m fine. I just lost track, I mean my mind wandered there for a minute…”

“Well shit! I’m sorry that I’m not entertaining enough to hold your attention!” she said the first thing that came to mind, knowing it sounded ridiculous; but she couldn’t let him know how deeply he was affecting her.

“Wait!! Wait,wait,wait,wait!!” he couldn’t, he **wouldn’t** let this pleasant evening end with a silly misunderstanding.

“Alison…” _what should he say? Why was this so damn hard?_ “Ali, listen, I’m sorry. You know that YOU are the last person in the world I want to hurt, or insult, or anything of the sort. You started to say something and for some reason, my mind started conjuring up all these awful things in my head. I do that sometimes… you KNOW that. Please, don’t be angry with me.”

How could she be angry with him?

With a deep sigh, she gently assured him, “Sebastian, I’m not angry with you. I’m sorry I snapped at you. I guess maybe… I’m tired.” _As excuses go, that was pretty damn lame._

He couldn’t let it end here. “So…what did you want to talk about?”

Lowering her head and exhaling a hard, quick little sigh she looked up at him and he saw the uncertainty in them. He hadn’t wanted to hear it before, but he was thinking she needed to get something off her chest, and he needed to hear it.

“You know what? It’s nothing really. It can wait for another day…”

Sebastian reached out and grasped both of her hands, pulling her close to his deliciously hard body. Searching her eyes he smiled softly, “Tell me.”

“It’s no big deal really… I was just going to tell you that Nate… he… we, sort of broke up.”

He was staring at her, even as she averted her eyes and looked embarrassed. Releasing her hands, he moved to cup her face and asked, “What…what does that mean? You ‘sort of’ broke up?” … _and are you telling me this so I know that you are ‘available’? And does mean that you WANT me to make a move…_

Giving him a confused look, she shook her head, “Yeah… I don’t, I’m not exactly sure myself. But…I think, I mean he wasn’t happy with me and I’m pretty sure that…” her green eyes were twinkling in the dim light of her temporary kitchen. Sebastian thought that she might be about to cry; but that just didn’t sound like her… not his Alison.

He still held her close, just inside the door, so close that she could feel the heat from his body. She wasn’t going to cry. She was sad about the situation with Nate, but her focus at the moment was on the man that stood in front of her. Unbidden thoughts overcame her as she could picture herself lifting her lips to his, putting her arms around his neck and holding on to him tightly.   She wondered what it would be like to feel his arms wrap around her in a heated embrace, molding their bodies together; what it would feel like as his tongue snaked into her mouth, demanding she respond in kind; his hands... grabbing her ass as she wrapped her legs around his waist, her whispers urging him towards the bedroom…

“Ali?”   _OH DEAR GOD!! HAD SHE MOANED OUT LOUD????_

Now it was his turn to ask if **she** was okay.

Blushing profusely, thankful that it was fairly dark inside, Ali said, “I’m fine. I don’t even know why I thought I should tell you…I think I must have eaten too much. My stomach is a little queasy… and these jeans are way too tight…and I’m not thinking straight.”

Sebastian wasn’t buying that little tale for even a second, but he figured that he owed her a freebie, so he simply nodded. He had managed to maneuver her all the way inside the trailer and he reached to close the door. She watched his hand and those long fingers of his as he made sure the door was firmly closed and then looked into his eyes again.

Seeing the curiosity in her eyes he smirked, “We were letting all the cool air out; it seems like it’s a little warm in here, don’t you think?”

Pulling free from him, she nodded, looking like a scared rabbit with nowhere to run. The tension between them was a living, breathing thing, just waiting to snap.

“Alison,” he spoke softly and it was all he needed to say as she suddenly surrendered to her feelings and moved to him, offering herself freely as he embraced her without even thinking about it. Reaching her arms up to bury her fingers in his thick hair, she guided his face to hers, smiling at his groan as he claimed her lips. Their tongues battled as their hands explored each other, almost desperate in their mutual desire. A small whimper escaped her lips as Seb moved his lips to her neck, his hot breath sending waves of pleasure through her whole body.

Suddenly coming to her senses, Ali whispered “Oh God…”

Sebastian heard the anguish in her voice and knew what she was thinking.

Pulling her into a bear hug, he stopped the onslaught of passion and simply held her close as they both reigned their emotions in. After several minutes, he took a deep breath and slowly moved his hands to her shoulders, gently pushing her away. Cupping her chin, not giving way until she looked him in the eyes, he nodded saying, “It’s okay.”

Alison, looking very much like a dog that had chewed its master’s favorite pair of shoes started to argue with him, but he stopped her, still holding her face in his hands, “It IS. It’s okay. It’s not your fault, it’s not my fault, it just happened. And it’s okay.”

Even through her embarrassment, she could hear something in his voice, not exactly sure what he was hiding; but reading in his eyes that he was feeling a lot more than he was saying, she attempted a smile that failed miserably, and then bit her lip in agreement “Okay.”

With a kiss to her forehead, he walked to the door and opened it, “I’ll see you in the morning.” 

Ali whispered, ‘Good night’ and watched as he stepped outside, closing the door behind him.  
  


Looking up at the sky that now showed dark blotches of clouds closing in on the once bright moon, Sebastian sought answers to the questions he didn’t dare ask. All he knew for certain was that he was more determined than ever to win Ali’s heart. Feeling happier than he had in weeks, he headed toward home to get a good night’s sleep. Once he crawled into bed he picked up his phone and sent a text to Alison:

Hey!!

In case anyone ever asks, you’re a great kisser; and its all REALLY okay!  
Good night little kitten.

p.s. You smell good too. Just sayin’…

 

There… that should make her smile, and hopefully ease any awkwardness when they saw each other in the morning. At least he hoped it would…


	4. Chapter 4

 

Sebastian was right. When Alison read his text, she **did** smile and once they returned to the set, everything was just as it had been. They greeted one another with a smile and a hug, even a peck on the cheek. The next few weeks were filled with long days of shooting… intricate fight scenes, lots of running, climbing, dodging bullets and all the things one would expect from an action movie. Their characters battled the bad guys physically as much as they did each other emotionally; with endless sharp witted, biting remarks and a couple of scenes in which they TRIED to call a truce, only to watch their good intentions go up in smoke.

As a result, both Seb and Ali were usually worn out at the end of the day, still making time to do interviews with the locals and keep in touch with the people and things that needed their attention, giving them very little time to spend ‘together’, much to Sebastian’s disappointment. At the end of the 5th week, Trevor did give them leave for a couple of extra days off and Alison made plans to go to Senoia to relax and visit with any of the TWD crew that might be there already.   On a whim, she told Sebastian her plan and even suggested he come out for a couple of days of R&R.

He had planned on flying to New York to touch base with his manager and film a few PSA’s he had promised to do, but told her he would love to join her if he could finish up the things he needed to do; adding that if **could** make it, he would. Ali smiled, not believing for a second that he would ever show up; but gave him the address and a few easy directions before hugging him, then setting off on her own.

              

Arriving in Senoia late on Wednesday evening, Alison stopped by a local grocery market and bought a few things to munch on during her four day weekend. The manager of the store recognized her and struck up a conversation, slipping a bag of Twizzlers in with her groceries, since he knew she liked them so much. She laughed and thanked him, then went straight to her ‘southern home’. Although it was nothing spectacular, it was so comfy-cozy, reminding her of her childhood home; that she really loved being there.

Putting the few items she had purchased away in their proper places, she began to hum, as she puttered around the house, happy that she had remembered to arrange to have the place dusted and the a/c turned on before she arrived… it was a warm evening in Georgia!   She sliced some cheese and an apple, threw them with a handful of crackers on a paper plate, grabbed a bottle of water and made her way to her front porch, where she sat on the swing with her plate beside her, enjoying the night air and the sounds of the neighborhood.   For the first time in a long while, she didn’t carry her phone out with her… whatever was going on could wait just a little while.

Later, while she was relaxing in front of the television with a crossword puzzle in her lap, she heard a familiar bleep, letting her know a new message had arrived. Retrieving her phone, she was surprised to see that she had missed two texts from Sebastian and two phone calls from Nate, who chose not to leave a message. Smiling, she opened the first text from Seb:

 

_Hey doll,_

_I made it home and much to my chagrin, the city managed to go on without me…happens every time!!_  
_I was just heading out to our favorite pub for some food and an adult beverage, and I thought of you on_  
_their Karaoke machine… “wink-wink”._

_Uhhhh..okay, I’m really checking to see if you made it to your place okay. So…did you?_

_Seb_

 

The next one, which had just arrived read:  
  


_Little Kitten,_

_I know I’m not the boss of you and that you are perfectly capable of taking care of yourself…_  
_but it’s my job to worry about you. What?!! You didn’t get that memo??? Who do I fire??_

_Just a word is all I need…_

_Seb_

Shaking her head, Alison smiled and hit reply:  
  


_Sebastian,_

_Missing me already, huh? It was bound to happen, but I thought you would last a little longer than_  
_the first few hours…LOL!_

_Seriously, I’m fine. Tell the ‘pub people’ hello and you… don’t stay out too late. Get some REST!! Okay?_

_Good night dork,_  
  
_Ali_  
  


Her text came through while Seb was biting into a juicy hamburger, with onion rings on the side (comfort food). Wiping his hands he picked up the phone to read her reply, grinning as he did so. Things on set were going so well that they were nearly two thirds finished with filming their scenes and he **still** hadn’t found the right way or right time to have a serious conversation with Ali about how he was feeling about her. The incident at her place hadn’t help matters. She was as friendly and affectionate as ever, but made no mention of what had happen, and had shown no signs that it had been anything other than a temporary lapse of judgment. She had been a little emotional that night, talking about breaking up with Nate and there HE was, and the moment had presented itself so maybe it really didn’t mean anything to her.

But he wasn’t buying that. He wasn’t blind. He had seen the way she had been looking at him; the way she continued to look at him since that night. He could still feel the way she had responded to his touch. And he could tell by the way she caught her breath when he (purposely) invaded her space and the number of times she managed to touch him (accidently on purpose) on set and off. There was definitely something there and he had the feeling that she was as concerned as he was that if they DID decide to be in a ‘relationship’ it might destroy their cherished friendship. It was a tough call, but it was a gamble he was willing to take. In his heart he knew they would be so good together; it would be a shame to waste the opportunity.

 

When you’ve been working 10–12 hour days, six days a week for the past five weeks, you would think that 4 days off would feel like a vacation; and in a way, it was. However, just like vacations, the days flew by, even if you are doing pretty much nothing. Alison found herself pondering this mystery late Friday, thinking that she really only had another day and ½ before she would need to close up the house and head back to Atlanta. She was watching Friday Fright Night… one of the old Hammer movies, when she heard the tap at her door. Her heart nearly burst from her chest as she instantly thought of Sebastian and his promise to join her if he found a way.

Running her fingers through her hair, just to fluff it up a bit, she straightened her loose fitting t-shirt and pulled the door open with a smile on her face. Her delight immediately turned to confusion when the man standing there was not Sebastian. Managing to keep her expression somewhat cheerful she gasped out, “Nate? … NATE??? What are you doing here?”

The before mentioned Nate chuckled, “Are you going to let me in?”

“Oh!!” Alison unlatched the screen door and made room for her ‘ex-boyfriend’ (?) to enter. For one of the few times in her life, she couldn’t think of anything to say, nothing nice anyway.

Nathan dropped his overnight bag next to the couch then smiled at her; and she had to admit to herself he was a handsome man, with his short black hair, soulful gray eyes, a ready smile and powerful physique; along with genuine warmth that drew people in. Was she insane for so easily giving up on him, on the two of them and what they could have together? Should she give their ‘love’ another chance? Is that what he wanted to happen? Why else would he be here?   

He seemed to be waiting for her to say something, but all she could think of was “How have you been?”

Shaking his head he drew Alison into his arms, seemingly not aware of her confusion and discomfort. He whispered softly, “I’ve missed you so much baby. I’m sorry I was such a jerk about things. I love you and have been miserable without you. Please forgive me?”

Before she could even come up with an answer, he pulled her close, his lips covering hers with warm, passionate kisses. He knew exactly what she liked as he began teasing her tongue with his, while he supported her back with one hand and caressed her hip and butt with the other. She was so overwhelmed it took her far longer than it should have to realize that this was not right. This was the same man who had called her foolish and immature; making derogatory remarks about Sebastian and her supposed friendship with him. This was the man who had not allowed her to give her side of the story and had rudely hung up on her during their last phone call. This man had given her every indication that their relationship was over, yet here he was with his tongue in her mouth and his hands all over her ass! Righteous anger began to build up in her, even as her treacherous body clung to his…  
  


While all of this was going on, neither of them had noticed that a silent figure stood on the porch watching through the open door as Alison seemed to melt into the arms of the man who weeks ago she had ‘sort of broken up’ with. Apparently, that had been a temporary thing because it appeared that all had been forgiven between the two of them. He couldn’t help but notice the man’s bag on the floor and as the lump in his throat became desperately uncomfortable he realized that he had been wrong; utterly, undeniably wrong. With his heart heavy in his chest, he turned and left.  
  


Unfortunately, Sebastian left precisely 2.67 seconds before he could see Alison finally come to her senses and struggle free from Nate, pushing him hard and giving him a look of total disbelief.

“What the hell??” she managed to gasp aloud. “What do you think you are doing? I don’t remember inviting you... Why are you here? Did you forget the way our last conversation ended?”

Nate took a step toward her and she took two steps back.   “Stay away from me Nate. You made it perfectly clear the last time we were together that I was a disappointment to you and not worth anymore of your time.

“Alison, please, please, let me at least try to explain, let me apologize.”

“Why should I? YOU didn’t let me apologize or explain anything.”

“I know… and that was totally wrong and inexcusable and I’m truly sorry. Alison, I don’t think you understand just how much I love you OR how much it hurt every time you made it clear that even though you cared for me (and I know that you did), I could never be as special to you as Sebastian. How could I compete with that, with him?? I already felt way out of my league dating you… can you at least think about that; consider how small trying to measure up to HIM made me feel?”

Ali inhaled deeply and nodded. His words stung, but only because they were true. Drawing on her inner strength she calmed herself and answered him truthfully, “Nathan, I’m sorry too. I realize that I was not fair to you, and I know that you deserve so much better. I tried to make you see that when we first started dating, but you were so charming and kind and wonderful… and I needed to feel that, I needed YOU in my life. I took advantage of your feelings for me. I knew I could never love you, not the way you needed me to. I’m ashamed of the way I used you. I didn’t mean to hurt you, I swear, I never thought that…”

Lowering her head, she could no longer hold back the sorrow and guilt as she began to cry heartfelt tears. Taking a few steps toward her, Nate gently touched her arm, “Alison, its okay.” She looked at him and stepped into his welcoming embrace, allowing herself to take comfort in his arms, feeling the warmth of his body, listening to his soothing words. She didn’t blame him for getting angry with her; she deserved his derision.

As he stroked her hair, his heart ached. He could tell her apology was sincere, and that she truly felt bad. He could also tell that his time as her ‘boyfriend’ was over, before it had really had time to flourish. He still believed that he could make her happy, if she would let him. He still loved her. But it was clear now, just as it had been when he had first met her, that the only man she would or could ever love… was Sebastian Stan.

Giving her a squeeze he pulled away and asked, “So, is there a decent hotel nearby where I can spend the night?”

Wiping the tears from her eyes, Ali pointed down the short hallway, “I have a guest room. You are more than welcome to stay here tonight. At this hour, most of the hotels nearby will be filled up. Please… stay.”

“Are you sure?” he knew he had mucked things up and he honestly didn’t want to intrude.

“Of course. Nate… I’m so sorry.”

“I know baby; so am I,” he took her hand and they sat on the couch, his arms wrapped around her, her head resting on his chest as the screams of the vampire’s latest victim resonated from the television. Somehow, it seemed a fitting end to this painful day.

 

Sebastian didn’t know where he was. He had blindly left Alison’s house, not caring where he went, as long as he got far away from that sight of her Nathan's arms. It didn’t matter, of course, how far or how fast he drove… that scene was etched into his mind’s eye for all time.   Spotting a bar with its lights still flashing “OPEN”, he pulled into the lot and went inside. Hoping that he would not be recognized, he went to a booth hidden in the corner and sat with his head down, staring at his phone so it looked like he was busy. When the waitress came to his table, he ordered a whiskey and asked her to bring the bottle.

The bartender carried the drink to the table and when Sebastian didn’t look up, the man sat down across from him. Getting Seb’s attention he spoke softly, “Look son, I can tell that you’ve got something eating at you in a bad way. I know that drinking yourself blind is a simple solution. But I need to bring to your attention that we will be closing in a little over an hour, which means you will need to leave. If you finish that bottle you ordered before then, you WILL be too drunk to drive. Local laws say you can’t drive with an open bottle in the car, and chances are you will still have had too much to be legal. And if anything happens once you leave here, at least part of the guilt will be on me. You understand what I’m saying?”

Sebastian just stared at the man in disbelief… “What kind of bar is this that you won’t sell me the alcohol that I ordered?”

The older man stared back, “You KNOW I’m right. Look, if you need to talk, I’ve got a few minutes and would gladly lend an ear. What do ya say?”

Placing his head in his hands, Sebastian considered the man’s offer. He **did** know that the only thing he would get from a night of drinking alone was a very unpleasant hangover. He just didn’t know if he wanted to share what he was going through with this stranger, no matter how kind his eyes were.

“Son? I’m gonna guess this has something to do with a woman. Why don’t you tell me about her?” Jake had been tending bar in this town for over 20 years and he had heard more stories of heartbreak than he would have thought possible since he started all of those years ago. And although there were many kinds of heartache… the biggest, the baddest, most frequent cause of this pain was a woman. He had a way of getting folks to open up to him… so he waited.

Finally looking up at the man, Sebastian ran his fingers through his hair, and instantly thought of Alison, the way she had buried her fingers in his hair, pulling him close.

“Alison, her name is Alison McBride,” he shared quietly.

“hmmm… pretty name. Pretty woman.” Jake nodded at him.

“You know her?” Sebastian seemed surprised.

“Well, I don’t KNOW her, but I know of her. She is a pretty big celebrity around these parts. And you… you seem really familiar too. But you know what, none of that matters. People are people, no matter how famous they are, or not. Do you want to talk about what happened?”

Taking a sip of the drink the man had brought him, Seb nodded and began piecing together the sad story of love and betrayal, and the broken heart he was carrying around in his chest at that very moment. The other man listened closely, asking questions now and then, smiling when he needed to and consoling him when appropriate.

Finally Sebastian looked down at his drink; seeing that he hadn’t even finished it, then looked around the bar, realizing he was the only customer left. He offered an appreciative smile to Jake and stood to pay when the man said to him, “It’s on the house friend.”

“No! You’ve been kind enough to listen to my sob story, the least I can do is pay for my drink!”

“No…Sebastian, right? New customers always get that first drink free. And I wish I had some fool proof advice to offer you. Like I said I don’t really know Miss McBride, but I have heard stories from different people in town who DO know her and she just doesn’t sound like the type that would use you or try to fool you that way. I feel like there must be more going on than can be seen on the surface. You say she invited YOU to join her… why would she invite someone else, knowing you might show up? That doesn’t make much sense, does it?”

Shaking his head, Seb had to agree that NO, it did NOT make sense. But he knew what he had seen and it could only mean one thing.

“Do you love this woman?” Jake kept talking to Sebastian as he puttered around the bar, closing up shop for the night.

Without hesitating for a moment he confessed, “Yes, I love her more than anything.”

“Have you TOLD her that?”

Biting his lip, the younger man shook his head.

“Okay then. That’s where you start. You swallow your pride, you go to her and you tell her exactly how you feel. You lay your heart out there for her to see. Only then will you really know where you stand.”

Nodding, Sebastian thanked the man and promised that he would let him know how it all turned out; even though he wasn’t sure that he would actually do as the man suggested. He asked to use the restroom before he left and when he came out, he had a hundred dollar bill tucked in his pocket. As he walked by the shiny wood bar, he slipped the money under a glass paper weight and met Jake at the door, shaking his hand and thanking him for his kindness. It was late and he didn’t feel like driving all the way back to Atlanta, so he found a motel just down the road and took a room for the night. Sleep was a long time coming, and when it did, of course he dreamed of Ali.

 

The following morning, Nate insisted on treating Alison to breakfast at the local café. They sat across from each other, both of them lost in thought; each one sorry for the way they had let the other one down; both of them struggling with the reality that their relationship was truly over. Before their meal was finished they DID share their good wishes for each other… and although they agreed to ‘keep in touch’, in their hearts they knew it wouldn’t work that way.

Returning to Ali’s house, Nate grabbed his bag, then stood by the door wanting to say something more, but not having a clue what he could say that would change anything. Finally, he said goodbye and before he turned to leave, Alison stopped him and raised her arms, beckoning him into one last hug. Life could be so fickle sometimes, and downright cruel at others.  


Cruel? How about that thing we call fate? Oh fate could be a **real** bastard as, yet again, Sebastian had found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. He had come out of the men’s room at that very same café, catching sight of her instantly. It was almost as if he had developed a superhuman ability to feel her presence from across any room. Moving quickly to the counter, with his back towards Alison hoping to God that she wouldn’t notice him; he bought a cup of coffee to go, and slipped out like a thief in the night, apparently undetected.  


_“Coward.”_

“Not a coward… just didn’t want to make a scene.”

_“Coward.”_

“No… no. I didn’t want Ali to be in the middle of a situation that might become really unpleasant.”

_“Unpleasant? Are you still defending HER? She’s the one who went running back to her ex. She’s the one who gives you tender looks, shy touches, warm lips… and apparently forgets all about you, the moment you are not around… even after she invited YOU to join her. What were you supposed to think?”_

“She said she wasn’t SURE what had happened between them, and since I never told her how much I …”

_“Coward.”_

“Shit,” Sebastian couldn’t even win an argument with himself.

He drove with a purpose, not wanting to chance seeing the two of them again. He would return to the relative safety of Atlanta, find a room, drown his sorrows… and with that thought a wave of guilt hit him in the gut. What had the bartender…Jake was it? What had he told him he should do? Something to the effect that he should “man up and talk to her”… not duck and run. He wondered, was that really all it would take? Maybe he should turn around and go back. Maybe he **should** just throw it all out there. Maybe he should tell Nate to take a hike because Alison McBride was HIS and always would be. Maybe he should call and let her know he was coming? Maybe he should drive a spike through his hand…

This day, just like the day before, sucked.

Lesson learned: Sometimes, no matter WHO you are, LIFE just sucks!

 


	5. Chapter 5

 

Monday dawned bright and sunny. Nearly everyone was on set early, eager to get the day started. Sebastian had stayed away as long as he could, spending Sunday night in Atlanta, driving to the set at the last possible minute that morning. Alison had been worried about him, sending several texts and calling half a dozen times the night before, getting no answer. Her last voice message sounded so desperate, Seb had finally texted her back simply saying:

_I’m fine. Taking longer than I thought it would._  
_Will see you in the morning._  
  


That was it. No greeting. No closing. No names. _Not like Seb at all… not one little bit._  
   


When he did arrive on set, he was quiet and unreadable. Alison gave him a hug and he couldn’t keep his body from tensing up, just enough so that she noticed. With her hand on his shoulder she whispered, “Sebby, What is it, what’s happened?”

Looking into her green eyes, he could feel the pain he had been wallowing in noticeably melting away; he took the hand resting on his shoulder and held it for a moment. His heart leapt as he saw the genuine concern she felt for him and whatever he was dealing with. Guilt sprang up as he tried to justify the anger he had been stoking, allowing it to guide his actions. This was Alison, one of his closest friends ever… how could he so easily have judged her? What the hell was wrong with him? Shame took over as he pulled her into a tight hug, whispering “We’ll talk later, okay?” Alison smiled at him and squeezed his hand, “Okay.”  
  


That was the last quiet moment they had the rest of the morning as filming began in earnest shortly after and continued full speed ahead until they broke for lunch. Just as Alison and Seb were about to leave for the cafeteria, Trevor approached them to let them know that the shooting schedule had been changed up a bit and that their ‘love scene’ was going to happen that afternoon. They looked at each other, eyes big, mouths open in semi-shock. Of course they knew it was coming sooner or later, but neither of them was quite prepared for it. Which come to think of it, was probably exactly what Trevor was hoping for; that whole ‘fresh and real’ experience that he liked so much.

“So, see you two on the closed set at, say… 2:30? You’ll want to drop by the, uh, wardrobe department before you get there.” He noticed that neither of them were saying anything so he added, “You’ll be great together, everybody knows it.”

As Trevor walked away Alison found enough of her voice to ask the air (because she didn’t dare look at Sebastian) “What did he mean by THAT??”

So far, Seb hadn’t said a word or made a move, and because she knew it was going to get worse before it got better, she turned to face him and almost laughed out loud at the expression on his face. Finally he looked at her and with a smirk he responded, “I think we should have a light lunch, how about you?”

 

“Closed set” is pretty much a misnomer. Yes, there **are** fewer people present; no cast mates other than the couple in question, no stunt doubles, no producers, managers, certainly no ‘guests’ and as few techs as possible, but still, pretending to make love with someone in front of a dozen or so people is anything but pleasant. The number of ‘adjustments’ to the camera angle, achieving the perfect lighting and the constant reminders to keep your arm or leg or whatever in this position or that position, to move her hair, to dab his sweat, because let’s face it, **he** is more likely to have to hold certain uncomfortable positions for long periods of time, or because this was a PG-rated movie, only so much skin could be shown for thus many seconds as you try to stay focused on every choreographed move and STILL make it look you are enjoying it whilst stopping and starting over and again… yeah well, it ain’t easy.

Add to the mix that your leading man and leading lady are friends teetering on the edge of realizing that they could and should be much more than that and you have a somewhat volatile situation!  
  


This particular scene was taking place very shortly after their characters had been in another somewhat heated argument. They ‘worked’ together like a well oiled machine, but it seemed that they were absolutely incompatible on a more personal basis; and yet somehow, they managed to cross paths constantly.

 

_… transcript from “A Point in Time” the book version…_

_Ethan’s head was pounding and he was furious. That little slip of a girl had the uncanny ability to get so deeply under his skin that it felt as if she was always there; always taunting him, her image etched in his brain with a hot branding iron so that he could never escape her smug attitude, constantly recalling her smart ass remarks or biting comebacks to his simplest comment. There had been a time when he wondered why she was not married or at least ‘with’ someone special. After this mission he thought he now understood that no man on Earth or any other planet could survive on his own with her for very long._

_And still, he always went back for more, never stopped egging her on in his own laid back way. He couldn’t get enough of her smile, (which was seldom bestowed upon HIM of course); the sound of her voice, and her laugh… it was like music come down from Heaven. She was gorgeous, although she tried to hide it, always pulling her hair back because she thought it was more professional, she couldn’t hide those frosty green eyes, that button nose or those damned enticing lips. He couldn't say exactly what her body was like (except he HAD ‘accidentally’ walked in on her in the shower a couple of times…) so he knew that under the uniform and vests and shirts and jackets and whatever else she wore, was hidden a beautiful creamy white body of perfection._

_However, he was technically her superior and no matter how proficient, or how well she worked with him on duty, it was about damn time she start showing him some respect in front of the other team members. With that in mind and even though they were officially off duty for the moment, he didn’t even change clothes before marching to her quarters and banging on her door._

_When it opened, Sydney stood there, the look on her face a mix of exhaustion and dread. She clearly was not up to an argument. Which was good, because the moment he set eyes on her; arguing suddenly became the very last thing on his mind._

_“Abbot, may I come in?”_

_Nodding, she stepped back from the door to let him enter. Her quarters, like everyone else’s, could never be mistaken for roomy or fancy in any way; there was barely room for one person to comfortably move about, much less two. She had unlaced her boots and taken off her jacket and vest, undoing the top couple of buttons of her shirt before he had knocked on her door._

_He started his partially prepared reprimand and couldn’t believe it when she sat on the edge of her bed and finished the process of removing her boots, her sigh of relief was like the soft breath of an angel…_

_“Oh fuck this!” He yanked her up from the bed and pushed her the few remaining steps to the nearest wall, leaning close and standing over her, his chin grazing her forehead. She tried to pull away but was no match for his strength. She kept up her silent struggle for another few seconds, her green eyes locked on his blue ones, both of them breathing heavier the more she struggled. With no warning, he put his hand on the back of her head then pressing his body hard into hers his lips claimed hers in a forceful, possessive kiss that completely took her breath away. His fingers found the tie holding her hair back and he pulled it off, letting her long hair spill down around her face and across her shoulders._

_With a moan he pushed her back to the wall and growled in her ear, “Damn it woman! You will be the death of me. I want you Abbot, I want all of you right now.”_

_Reaching her arms up and around his neck, she pulled his hair and whispered, “Christ Ethan, it’s about damn time.” She ran her fingers through his thick brown curls, down his scruffy face, standing on her toes to nibble on his neck as she started un-tucking his shirt, her hands roaming over his chest and the muscles of his back. He wasted no time pulling her shirt and bra over her head, his hands cupping her warm flesh, his touch sending shockwaves through her whole body, making her nipples harden and rise up for his attention. He leaned down and kissed one and then the other as his hands found the button and zipper of her pants and quickly rid her of that encumbrance,. Meanwhile she had managed to pull his shirt over his head as well and was struggling with his belt. He moved her hands so he could help while his mouth still covered hers with urgent kisses, his tongue demanding her attention._

_When all their clothes were scattered around the room he picked her up and laid her on the bed covering her body with his in one easy move. He trailed hot kisses from her mouth, down the length of her body as she moaned in delight and arched her back to meet his lips… They were so hungry for each other it was obvious that there was no real NEED for foreplay, even though it was quite enjoyable for both of them. Ethan whispered his desires in her ear, sending chills down her spine and as he entered her, she gasped in appreciation, clutching his shoulder blades quickly moving to match his rhythm … until the intercom crackled to life._

_“Captain Cole, please report to the ready room as soon as possible.”   Professional that he was, Ethan managed to respond without sounding the least bit breathless, “Roger that. I’ll be there A-SAP.”_

_He groaned deeply into her neck and she bit her lip and giggled as he said, “Double time” as she wrapped her legs tightly around his waist, heels hugging is firm ass as he finished up as quickly as he could. Afterwards he scrambled around getting his clothes back on as she watched his every move, a delicious pout on her face. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he pulled his boots on and she sat up and wrapped her arms around him, her still bare breasts pressing into his back. He turned and giving her a slow deliberate kiss, he touched the tip of her nose and promised, “I’ll be back.”_

_“What if I decide to lock the door?” she teased._

_Knowing full well she would be waiting anxiously for him he promised,“ I will fucking knock it down.” …_

 

That fairly simple, short scene took several hours to complete and by the time it was over Ali felt like she knew every inch of Sebastian’s well endowed body. He seemed to be easily aroused and she couldn’t stop her fits of giggles a couple of times during filming, ruining the shot and making them start over again. Sebastian was embarrassed the first time and the second time he declared that it was Ali’s fault for being so damn sexy. Her turn to be embarrassed.

When Trevor was finally happy with what he was seeing as he watched the small screen in front of him… he smiled a rather wicked little grin and told them, “It’s good. It’s real good. Why don’t you two call it a day? Have some dinner or something. Luckily we can edit out your growling stomachs.” They both laughed and decided that dinner sounded like a great idea.

“Are you going to let us see the rushes?” Sebastian was interested in seeing how it all looked on film while Ali thought she might be better off going to her trailer to freshen up.  After the somewhat uncomfortable afternoon they had spent frolicking in bed with the crew looking on, it seemed like the best thing they could do would be to fall back into their routine and not let the somewhat obvious attraction affect how they worked together.

“Alison, I’ll come by and pick you up in a few minutes. We’ll go to that roadhouse you like so much.”

“Mmmm… that’s sounds perfect! Hurry up… I’m hungry!!”  


As Sebastian watched the replay of the work they had done that afternoon, he felt a pleasant heat rising in his loins. Seeing himself with Ali, watching as their characters finally admitted their feelings for each other, seeing how well the two of them fit together… it struck a chord with him. He knew he had to approach Alison with what he had seen in Senoia and admit how he felt about her. His head was going to explode if he didn’t find out whether or not she would be willing to risk their ‘friendship’ in favor of a more ‘adult’ relationship. Tonight was the night…

 

Just as he promised, an hour later Seb and Ali were comfortably seated at one of the best steak houses either of them had ever found. With delicious food and equally enjoyable atmosphere, the place was packed and loud and not exactly the best place to have the talk that Sebastian was planning on having. After their meal, they joined the crowd outside and watched a short fireworks display with a local country band playing in the background.   All in all it was exactly the type of fun, relaxing evening that they needed and he was happy he had suggested they go there.  


 

Once they arrived back at the motor coaches, Sebastian asked Alison if he could come in so they could talk. Hesitating for a moment she took his hand saying “So, we’re finally going to do this, huh? Come on in.”

As they settled down on the couch in the living area, Ali kicked her shoes off and pulled her legs up, sitting with her feet on the cushion, arms around her legs, facing Sebastian. She unabashedly enjoyed his perfect profile as he drank from the bottle of water she had given him. After a couple of minutes she said, “I believe YOU called this meeting. Do you want to give me a hint what it’s about?”

Taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, not knowing exactly how to start, he licked his lips and turned to face her.

“Ali…are you and Nate over? I mean, is that fire completely out?”

Totally taken off guard and curious where this might be going, she spoke softly, “Yes, that fire is out.”

“Are you sure, absolutely sure?”

“Yes,” she was feeling slightly under attack. “I’m absolutely sure. It’s been over for weeks and you know that.”

Sebastian shook his head, a little of the jealous anger he had felt that night on the porch raising it’s ugly head.

“Please don’t lie to me.”

Ali’s mouth dropped before she answered, “What? I, I’m not lying to you! Why would you think that? Why would I ever do that?”

He clinched his jaw briefly before explaining, “I saw you; you and Nate, together in Senoia… and it sure didn’t look like you were over. It looked like you were very much together,” his words hinted at the disappointment he felt. He didn’t like arguing with Alison and this felt very much like an argument; although technically it wasn’t, at least not yet.

“You saw us?” Ali was trying desperately to put the pieces together; feeling as if this must be some kind of sick joke. Her face was the picture of confusion.

“Alison,” Seb continued, trying not to sound angry, “I was there. I was standing on your porch, watching through the screen door. He was holding you in his arms and you did NOT appear to be terribly unhappy about it.”

“You were spying on me?” she blurted out the first thought that came to her.

“Stop,” Sebastian wasn’t going to allow her to turn the tables. “You invited me. I came. And when I got there, you weren’t alone…so I left.”

The room was painfully quiet while she considered his words, her mind a whirl as she sorted through it.

“Oh shit,” she whispered, as the pieces slowly fell into place. Leaning forward she grabbed his wrist, “Sebby, you didn’t stay long enough.”

“What? Why would I stay?” his voice cracked just a little as his emotions got in the way.

“Please, please listen to me…”

“You can’t deny what I saw, can you? You were together that night and again the next morning at the café.”

“Sebastian… you don’t understand, you don’t know what happened.”

“Ali!! I saw it with my own eyes!” he jerked his arm away from her.

She could maybe understood why he thought the way he was thinking, but she was surprised that he didn’t want to listen to her. In fact, he seemed determined to be angry…to be the victim. Something about this didn’t feel right.

Scooting closer to him on the couch and turning her body so that she was more or less facing him head on, she put her hand on his thigh, trying to decide where to start.

“Sebby, you need to take a breath and let me explain, okay?” He sighed and didn’t knock her hand away so she took that as a good sign.

“First of all, Nate just showed up. I didn’t invite him…and frankly I didn’t want him there. I was still hoping that **you** might come. I would never play that kind of game with you, you have to know that.“ He started to say something but she squeezed his leg and said, “Please, let me finish. Yes, he did kiss me…okay, ‘we’ kissed, but it was only a moment _. A moment._ And then it was over. But you left, so you didn’t see us argue, you didn’t hear our discussion, and you don’t know…” She started to confess to him the reason that she and Nate didn’t work out, why she and no other man had worked out, but as usual, she didn’t want to set herself up to be disappointed. “Anyway, he stayed the night in the guest room, we had breakfast the next morning as you obviously know, and we said goodbye. Goodbye, good luck, take care, it’s over… Goodbye.”

The sorrow in her voice stung Sebastian as he covered the hand that was resting on his leg with his own and feeling how cold her fingers were, he gave it a light squeeze. Realizing that he probably HAD jumped to conclusions he felt awful. Sighing, he looked away for a few seconds then back to face her. “I’m sorry. Ali, I… I’m an idiot. And I apologize for… everything. I don’t even know what’s wrong with me.”

“Sebby, can I ask you a question?” She had an inkling that she already knew the answer, but she needed to hear it from him.

He nodded, “Sure.”

“Why? I mean, why would it be such a bad thing if Nate and I HAD got back together?”

_Damn. He wasn’t expecting that. So, here it was… the perfect opportunity to state his case, to lay it all out there as Jake suggested he do. Was he going to be a coward? Was he going to risk losing his best friend? Would she give ‘them’ a chance? Damn._

“Alison, after I left your house that night, I drove around and ended up at this little bar. I had a very enlightening conversation with the bartender. He was a really nice guy; I think you would like him.”

She watched him and listened closely as he went over parts of their conversation. Her heart nearly exploded as he repeated what he had said when asked if he loved her, “Yes, more than anything.” He touched her cheek then, wanting desperately to kiss her. “So that’s when he told me I should **tell you** …and that’s really why I’m here, why we’re here and what I’m trying to do … even if I’m not doing the greatest job of it.”

Ali was speechless, literally. She tried to say something and the tears welled up in her eyes, her voice choked back with emotion.

“So, what I’m saying is,” he forged ahead, determined to get to the point. “Alison, we’ve known each other for years and I cherish our friendship. But if I’m going to be honest with you and with myself, it’s time that you know that for nearly half of those years, I’ve been in love with you. I love you. That’s what it all boils down to. I love you…and I hope I haven’t fucked things up between us.”

She still hadn’t said anything, so he cupped her face in his hands, “If you don’t …you know, if you don’t love me the same way, I’ll understand. I’ll be crushed, but I’ll understand. I just HAD to stop hiding what I’ve been feeling…okay?”

Suddenly, she threw her arms around his neck, crying into his collar. Not quite the reaction he had expected; Seb wrapped his arms around her, stroking her hair and whispering, “it’s okay baby…everything is okay,” hoping very much that he was right.

After a while, when his shoulder was soaked with her tears and she showed signs of regaining her composure, he nudged her gently, “Hey…better now?” He was trying to ignore the fact that she hadn’t responded to his confession, afraid of what that, combined with her tears meant. Taking a deep breath, Alison leaned back, slightly away from him and wiped her eyes, then grabbed a tissue to dab at her runny nose.

“Oh little kitten, you look a mess. Let’s get you to the bathroom and clean that gorgeous face,” he didn’t know what else to say.

Alison nodded then stood up saying “I’ll be right back.” Taking a couple of steps, she stopped and turned to look at him, “Don’t go away.”

“No. I won’t,” his legs felt like rubber and he didn’t think he could leave if he wanted to.

She studied his features, seeing that he looked a little lost, she added, “Promise me.”

With a smile he shook his head, “I’m not going anywhere, I promise.”

In the bathroom, Alison stood in front of the mirror, shaking. She had splashed water on her face and used a cloth to remove the smudges her mascara had left. Her heart was racing and butterflies were making her slightly dizzy. She fluffed her hair taking a couple of deep breaths then opened the door and went to stand in front of Sebastian. Putting her hands on his shoulders, she slowly climbed over him, her legs straddling his thighs as her knees pressed into the cushions of the couch.

Sebastian tried to sit up straighter, a gulp escaping from his throat as she settled down on his lap. His bottom lip trembled slightly as he spoke, “Well, hello. What…what’s this?”

She searched his eyes for a moment before saying, “You ARE an idiot… and so am I.” He raised an eyebrow, holding his breath and waited. “That day at the airport, when I was leaving for LA…when you kissed me goodbye, I knew. I knew that I could never really love anyone but you. I never wanted anyone but you. I loved you then, I love you now. And I always will.”

He sucked in a deep breath, exhaled slowly as he closed his eyes, counting to five before he opened them. He wasn’t dreaming. She was sitting right there, on his lap, proclaiming her love for him. She was soft and warm and offering herself to him. He was so humbled by her trust in and love for him he could barely speak.

After using his thumb to wipe away a couple of stray tears that found their way down her cheek, he put his hands on her hips pulling her even closer, teasing, “Do you think we can do this without someone giving us directions?” Smiling, she whispered in his ear, “There’s only one way to find out,” before their lips met, softly coming together for their first ‘real’ kiss. And it was perfect.

Absolutely perfect.

 


	6. Epilogue

 

Six months later, at the premiere of A Point in Time, Sebastian and Alison walked hand in hand down the red carpet, stopping now and then to greet people, waving at others, posing for photos; all the while smiling brightly and laughing happily. They had announced their engagement several weeks earlier, probably the proper thing to do, considering that a certain baby bump was becoming more and more evident. No one, and that included the cast and crew of A Point in Time was surprised. Neither were their families or friends, those who had known them forever, or only for a short while. Their love for each other shone brightly through each smile, every gentle touch and tender glance that they shared.

The movie was met with nothing less than high praise and the accolades of critics and fans alike. Ali and Seb had already become the new ‘it’ couple; even though they had been trying very hard to keep their relationship under wraps, it seemed like everyone knew they were perfect for each other even before they knew it themselves. Life was good. Very, very good.

 

After the premiere, in the back of the limo, Alison kicked her heels off and sat to the side, stretching her legs out, putting her feet on Seb’s lap. Giving her his best ‘oh really?’ look, she giggled sweetly, “Please?” Flexing his fingers, he gave her a smirk and began ministering to the first foot. His strong fingers worked their magic on her soles, toes, sides of her feet, then moved up the length of her calf. She sighed softly and closed her eyes, not the least bit surprised when his fingers crested the top of her knee and started up her thigh.

She opened her eyes and he gave her a lustful wink. With a snicker she reminded him, “You know, this is pretty much what led to me ending up like this,” she touched her softly rounded belly.

Already leaning in that direction, he reached over and gently rubbed the precious bump. “I like it. It looks really good on you.”

Putting her hand on top of his, she asked him shyly, “Sebby, do you think I’ll be a good mom? I mean, it goes without saying you’ll be an awesome daddy because, you know, you are pretty much a kid yourself. But me? I don’t know. I don’t know what I’m doing…”

They’d had a similar conversation before and he knew she was afraid. Pulling her up to sit next to him, he put his arm around her, holding her close.

“Ali, I know you will be the best mom ever. No one will ever try harder or love more than you do. And that is what’s most important. Our baby will know he is loved from **this very moment** until the end of time.   Just the way I love you.”

She turned and threw her arms around his neck.

“Besides,” he added with a grin, “I’ll be right there with you. What could possibly go wrong?”

Alison started to giggle, Sebastian’s cue to start tickling her and very quickly she was squealing with delight and feigned outrage. The limo driver shook his head with a smile, discreetly closing the blackout window between himself and the happy couple.

 

The End


End file.
